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The air was made of wine. He was sure of it.
At least, it might as well have been. Everyone in this place was acting like it. The sharp tang of the stuff sifted through every conversation and burst of laughter. All of Odin’s stupid royal parties always turn out like this. It got in his head every time, all the talk of the other Realms and whatever type of toga people are wearing nowadays. Trite nonsense that only served to grate against his brain like sandpaper. And it’s happening again. The thing that always happens at parties. An overload of the sharpness in everything that tore apart his senses.
Loki’s talking. Thor’s brother, his brother, adopted, greasy, dramatic, and...comforting. Home. He’s saying something to this group of awestruck and tipsy Asgardians. If he could just focus on whatever is coming out of Loki’s mouth then he might just be able to do the speech he always has to do at these damn parties.
“And I said, ‘Don’t ever bring an Asgardian boyfriend to an Earth gay bar.’ No, I did, I said that!”
Loki smiles in that way he does where he tricks the audience into thinking that he’s humble. It works, apparently, because the tipsy Asgardians all laugh at the punchline to a joke Thor didn’t get to hear.
Was Loki playing a trick on him, or did he just fool this crowd into thinking that he used that word right? Thor’s pretty sure he’s not that out of it. Gay bar? Happy bar? Aren’t all bars pretty happy? Or is that only the ones on Asgard? Confused thoughts rush through Thor’s brain. Like he needs more of those right now.
A new smell hits the air, the smell of roasted meat. The food is out and almost everyone rushes to the dining table, including Loki. Thor won’t be able to ask him what he means for two hours or more. No matter how confused he is, Thor always has to give the same speech before the crowd of Asgardians donned in golden party-wear. He’s not worried he’ll forget it, because he’s had to give this same speech since he was 15. Asgardian drinking age, of course.
Father clinks the glass with a spoon, and that’s his que.
---
The stupid party is finally over. The ones who will have hangovers the next day are always the last to go.
He’s free. No one is here, no one to judge him for his mannerisms. He runs his hands through his long hair, soothed by the texture. He learned early on that other Asgardians don’t like it when you do that. That’s why he doesn’t like these parties, because it’s just a bunch of silly rules that no one ever taught him. It doesn’t matter now though. The grand hall is not filled with convoluted rules and sharp sounds. Instead, Loki’s heeled boots echo off the golden ceiling as he sends his final farewells to the last to leave.
“Don’t rub it in, brother. Not all of us were graced with hair golden as yours.” Loki’s remark fills the empty hall as he ascends the stairway to the upper level.
Loki…
“Wait, brother-” Thor neglects to respond with a snide remark of his own as he runs up the stairs after him.
“Ugh, Thor, must you pester me before I shed this formal wear? Do you know how many blisters these boots gave me just tonight?” Loki barely looks back as he reaches the top heads toward the living quarters, undoing his royal scarf as he walks.
“Loki, you made a joke tonight, and-”
“Thor, it was a party. Of course I did.” Loki throws a smug glance over his shoulder this time.
“Loki!” Thor reaches out and grabs Loki by the elbow, who spins on his heels to face his brother.
Thor drops his and looks down at the ground, stopping to clear his throat.
“Well? I would really like to get these boots off, I’m blistering like you wouldn’t believe and-”
“Gay?” Thor stares at a blemish on the floor, unwavering.
Loki laughs, as though he’s told a joke. “Oh brother...did you truly not know? I thought you would have figured that out by now. I mean, look at me.” He looks up as Loki does a hand flourish, as if that was supposed to mean something to him.
“What?” Thor stares at the bridge of Loki’s nose, something he learned as a child that made it seem like he was making eye contact. Who’s the trickster god now?
“Thor...are you joking with me or do you really not know what ‘gay’ means? My Gods, I hope it’s the former.”
Thor clears his throat again. Did he skip school on the day that everyone else learned what ‘gay’ meant?
Loki sighs. “Follow me then. And don’t say anything till I get these fucking boots off.”
Thor sits on a rather uncomfortable chair across the room from Loki as he pulls his boots off. With a sigh of relief as the fucking boots are placed neatly in the corner, he pulls another one of those uncomfortable chairs across the room until he’s about 5 feet away and it feels more like an interrogation than a conversation.
“Thor, I like men. Because I like men, and not women, that means I’m gay.”
“You don’t like women?” That’s pretty low, even for Loki.
Loki roles his eyes. “Romantically.”
“That...this isn’t a trick you’re playing on me is it? Is that truly a possibility?”
“A possibility? Quite so. Actually, Heimdall is also gay and very open about that. I’m appalled, brother. How could you not have known this before?”
Thor ran his hands through his hair again, but Loki didn’t mock him. He’s usually the only one who doesn’t, surprisingly.
“Am..am I gay? Is everyone gay? What’s the opposite?” Thor begins clenching and unclenching his fists nervously.
“No-Thor, listen,” Loki gently places his hand on Thor’s fist for a moment, unfitting for a usually cold serpent of a man. “I can’t tell you what you are. Some people are gay, and some are straight, which is the opposite of gay, by the way. Some people even like both men and women romantically. And-oh, Thor, wait till you hear about genders.”
Thor makes eye contact with his brother for a brief moment. Why does Loki always make things more complicated than they need be?
“Don’t think about that part right now. Listen, I’ll…” Loki sighs. “I’ll answer any questions you have. But not now. Or tommorrow. Just-If you must know right away, ask Heimdall first. He’s far more willing to explain such things.”
He stands up and crosses his arms, which usually means that Thor has to leave his room right now.
“Brother..” Thor smiles excitedly. “Thank you.”
Loki hears loud tapping as Thor rushes out the door and straight towards Heimdall. He smiles just a little as the hall becomes truly empty once more.